Ron Villanueva Visits Regent University School of Law

On Tuesday, October 4, Regent University School of Law students had
the opportunity to connect with Delegate Ron Villanueva, who represents
the 21st District in Virginia's House of Delegates. The event was
sponsored by Regent's Asian Pacific Law Student Association (APLSA).

Ron Villanueva.

Villanueva has held an elected office
for 15 years, and currently represents portions of the cities of
Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, all-the-while balancing the demands of a
family and his small business ownership.

“As an elected official, you want to make a difference,” said Villanueva. “You want to enjoy what you’re doing.”

Villanueva was a graduate student in the mid-1990s at Regent’s Robertson
School of Government (RSG) and also worked on campus in the development
office. His time learning on campus was “transformational,” helping him
grow out of a season of doubting God and questioning his faith, and
sustaining him after a season of loss.

“It’s tremendous to see how the student body and programs have grown,”
said Villanueva. “It’s a testament to the mission of this school. And
it’s wonderful to be back here.”

Villanueva was first elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2009 –
the first Filipino-American elected to Virginia’s state government.
Since then, he’s held four consecutive terms, serving as the new
Chairman of Transportation, and sits on the Science and Technology and
the Commerce and Labor Committee. Prior to serving in the Virginia
House, Villanueva was a member of Virginia Beach City Council.

And though, admittedly, he’s earned respect despite his youthfulness, his message to students was to “do your homework.”

“You have to come with your A-game,” he said. “You need to be
well-versed and when you speak, map out where your opinions are going.”

He also suggested students pursue careers in the fields where the
workers are few but imperative, such as cyber-security,
telecommunications, finance, healthcare, criminal justice, LGBT
legislation, appeals, business law and immigration to name a few.

But for Villanueva, his life is more than developing policy, earning another term or chairing another committee.

For him, it’s about seeking the support of others, managing his schedule
and acknowledging that he can’t “do it all.” He’s learned the issues
that come up in his day-to-day life will always be there; but his
priorities are clear:

“I’m not perfect, so I lean on God, friends and family support – that’s
what I’ve been teaching my family,” said Villanueva. “There will always
be another meeting you need to go to, always a deal you need to close,
but you can’t take your eyes off your family and faith.”